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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2003, p. 490-494, Vol. 69, No. 1
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.1.490-494.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Enhanced Toxic Metal Accumulation in Engineered Bacterial Cells Expressing Arabidopsis thaliana Phytochelatin Synthase

Sandrine Sauge-Merle,* Stéphan Cuiné, Patrick Carrier, Catherine Lecomte-Pradines, Doan-Trung Luu,{dagger} and Gilles Peltier

CEA Cadarache, Direction des Sciences du Vivant, Département d'Ecophysiologie Végétale et de Microbiologie, Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie de la Photosynthèse, Université de la Méditerranée CEA 1000, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance Cedex, France

Received 22 July 2002/ Accepted 7 October 2002

Phytochelatins (PCs) are metal-binding cysteine-rich peptides, enzymatically synthesized in plants and yeasts from glutathione in response to heavy metal stress by PC synthase (EC 2.3.2.15). In an attempt to increase the ability of bacterial cells to accumulate heavy metals, the Arabidopsis thaliana gene encoding PC synthase (AtPCS) was expressed in Escherichia coli. A marked accumulation of PCs was observed in vivo together with a decrease in the glutathione cellular content. When bacterial cells expressing AtPCS were placed in the presence of heavy metals such as cadmium or the metalloid arsenic, cellular metal contents were increased 20- and 50-fold, respectively. We discuss the possibility of using genes of the PC biosynthetic pathway to design bacterial strains or higher plants with increased abilities to accumulate toxic metals, and also arsenic, for use in bioremediation and/or phytoremediation processes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: CEA Cadarache, Département d'Ecophysiologie Végétale et de Microbiologie, Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie Photosynthèse, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance Cedex, France. Phone: 33 442 25 36 72. Fax: 33 442 25 62 65. E-mail: sandrine.sauge-merle{at}cea.fr.

{dagger} Present address: Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes, ENSA-M/CNRS UMR 5004/INRA/UMII, 34060 Montpellier Cedex 1, France.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2003, p. 490-494, Vol. 69, No. 1
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.1.490-494.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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